A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to lighting systems for boats and other water craft. In particular, this invention relates to such lighting systems that utilize fiber optic cables on the exterior surface of a boat to better illuminate the boat at night and in other low light conditions. Even more particularity, the present invention relates to such lighting systems that have a frame and bumper guard to attach a fiber optic cable to the exterior surface, such as the side perimeter, of a boat and protect the cable from impact with other objects.
B. Background
It is well known that many people enjoy decorating or customizing their boats or other water craft. One way of decorating or customizing a boat or water craft is to place lights on its exterior surface. With regard to certain types of boats and other types of water craft, the use of lights on the exterior surface also provides significant safety aspects by illuminating the boat at night or during other low light conditions, such as fog. Although standard glass lights can be utilized on an exterior surface of a boat or other objects, these lights have a number of significant disadvantages that generally discourage such use. One obvious disadvantage is the likelihood of damaging the light(s) and, possibly, the boat itself if unintentional contact were to take place between the lights and another object. Another disadvantage is the inability to creatively place glass lights on an exterior surface of a boat due to the boat not being substantially planar along the sides where lights are most likely to be used. Yet another disadvantage of using regular lights is that electricity must be transmitted through electrical wires to the light bulbs, which can create dangerous conditions when used in or around water or water craft.
As a result of the disadvantages of glass lights, many people have turned to the use of fiber optic lights to provide the benefits discussed above with regard to lighting the exterior surface of a building or other structures. To the inventor""s knowledge, however, fiber optic cable has not been used to illuminate the sides of boats. With regard to fiber optic cable generally, It is well known that fiber optic cable can be used to obtain a variety of lighting benefits. Typically, fiber optic cables consist of an outer plastic tubing with one or more strands of fibers inside the tubing that transmit light from one end of the tubing to the other end. Some types of fiber optic light cables utilize an opaque tubing that primarily transmits the light to the end of the tubing where it is used for various lighting purposes. Another type of fiber optic cable is known as side-emitting fiber optic cables due to the transparent nature of the tubing, which causes light to emit from the entire length of the tubing, or at least that portion that is not intentionally blackened out. The tubing is typically made out of plastic or other materials that are known to resist problems due to exposure to heat, water and other conditions, including those which are weather related. Unlike the electrical wires used for standard lighting, fiber optic cables do not transmit electricity along the length of the cable. Due to these and other properties, fiber optic cables have been used to illuminate and decorate the exterior surface of buildings and along the sides of pools.
Several patents have issued for the use of fiber optic cables or other light devices in association with boats or other water craft. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,870 to Moore discloses a fiber optic system for boats that utilizes a centrally disposed light source that emits light into a plurality of fiber optic cables that radiate from a central light source to remote locations at the ends of the cables where a light fixture is located to disburse and transmit the light at the remote location. The purpose of the Moore patent is to provide a single, central high intensity light source that can be sealed and protected from the marine environment to distribute light for use at the remote locations. Another patent is U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,401 to Evans, which discloses a lighting system for boats which utilizes three electroluminescent strips that are embedded in the bumper guards surrounding the gunwale of a boat to form a substantially continuous illuminated loop around the boat for purpose of illumination at night. The Evans patent does not disclose the use of fiber optic cables in conjunction with the bumper guards on the exterior of the boat for the purpose of illuminating the sides of the boat or other water craft.
A major problem with the use of fiber optic cables on the sides of the boat is the likelihood that the boat will bump up against another object, such as a dock when bringing the boat in or another boat during those occasions when two or more boats join together. Although fiber optic cables are significantly more durable and damage resistant than glass lighting, they still can be damaged. In fact, a relatively small nick or break in the cable will diminish or totally prevent light from transmitting along the cable. If the nick or break is near the source of the light, then the entire string of cable beyond the nick or break will be dark. The only known way to fix such damage is to replace the fiber optic cable, which can be very expensive. The inventions described in the Moore and Evans patents do not discuss or address this problem. For the invention disclosed in the Moore patent, it is not necessary that the entire length (or any) of the fiber optic cable itself be visible from outside the boat. For the invention disclosed in the Evans patent, the inventor avoids the problems that are known to be associated with fiber optic cables by utilizing the electroluminescent strips embedded into a bumper guard. To the inventor""s knowledge, no known light assemblies and mounting apparatuses exist that permit the use of fiber optic cables on the sides of a boat or other water craft without subjecting the fiber optic cable to the high risk of damage and the user to the likelihood of a costly replacement.
The known existing art, both individually and in all appropriate combinations, show that the broad concept of utilizing side-emitting fiber optic cables on the outer surfaces of objects to provide aesthetic and illumination benefits is well known. On the other hand, none of the known references teach a light assembly and mounting apparatus that is suitable for use on the exterior surface of a boat or other water craft that can hold, display and protect fiber optic cable so that it can be used to decorate and illuminate the surface on which it is to be installed. What is needed is a light assembly and mounting apparatus for fiber optic cables that is suitable for use on the exterior perimeter surface of boats and other water craft that can securely hold, conveniently display and safely protect the fiber optic cable from impact related damage.
The fiber optic light assembly and mounting apparatus of the present invention provides the benefits and solves the problems identified above. That is to say, the present invention discloses a light assembly system and mounting apparatus that allows persons to utilize fiber optic cables to decorate and illuminate the exterior surfaces of various water craft, including boats. In general, the present invention provides a light unit having an emitter that transmits light into and through a side-emitting fiber optic cable which is securely held inside a bumper guard mounted to a frame which is attached to the exterior surface of the boat. Although the bumper guard securely holds the fiber optic cable in the mounting apparatus, it is configured to allow the fiber optic cable to be seen from a distance and to protect the frame, boat and cable from impact damage.
In its broadest form, one embodiment of the present invention comprises a lighting unit having a light emitter inside a housing. The light emitter is configured to be connected to an internal or external power source. One end of a flexible, elongated fiber optic cable, which is configured to receive light from the light emitter and transmit the light through the fiber optic cable, attaches to, abuts or is inserted into the housing. Because the outer surface of the cable is transparent, the entire length of the fiber optic cable is illuminated. The mounting apparatus comprises a resilient bumper guard securely disposed in a frame that is suitable for attachment to the exterior surface of a boat. The bumper guard is configured to securely receive the fiber optic cable. Because the bumper guard protrudes outwardly from the frame beyond the outside surface of the fiber optic cable, it can protect the fiber optic cable from impact-type damage. For cable visibility, the bumper guard does not fully enclose the fiber optic cable.
In the preferred embodiment, the present invention has a lighting unit with a light emitter inside a housing that has a cable inlet on one wall of the housing. Also inside the housing is a cooling mechanism to cool the light emitter, which can be a high intensity light source. The cable is an elongated, side-emitting fiber optic cable with a flexible, transparent outer optical tubing with one or more strands of optic fibers disposed in the tubing. The strands of optical fibers are suitable for transmitting light from the proximal end of the cable. This end of the cable is disposed in the housing through the cable inlet. Because it is open and located such that the end is in light communication with the light emitter, light from the light emitter enters the strands of fibers and is transmitted throughout the cable to illuminate its entire length (unless the user desires to blacken or block out a portion of the cable). In the preferred embodiment, the frame has a pair of opposing side members that extend upwardly and inwardly from a base member, which can be integral with the side members, to form a partially enclosed cavity on the front side of the frame. The distal ends of the side members form an opening into the cavity. The resilient bumper guard is shaped and configured to be securely received in the partially enclosed cavity through the opening. A pair of cable guards on the bumper guard protrude outward from the base member beyond the outside surface of the fiber optic cable, which is securely received between the pair of cable guards. If desired, a color changing mechanism can be disposed between the light emitter and the proximal end of the fiber optic cable for changing the color of the light in the fiber optic cables for improved safety and aesthetic purposes. In addition, a flasher apparatus can be used to cause the light in the fiber optic cable to flash (i.e., in color).
Accordingly, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a fiber optic light assembly and mounting apparatus to mount the fiber optic cable to the exterior surface, such as the side perimeter, of a boat or other water craft.
It is also an important objective of the present invention to provide a fiber optic light assembly and mounting apparatus that is suitable for holding, displaying and protecting fiber optic cable used on the exterior surface of a boat or other water craft.
It is also an important objective of the present invention to provide a light assembly that utilizes a light emitter in a housing that is in light communication with a fiber optic cable securely held and protected in a bumper and frame assembly that attaches to the sides of boats and other water craft.
It is also an important objective of the present invention to provide a light assembly for use with a mounting apparatus that securely holds a fiber optic cable along the side of a boat or other water craft to prevent impact-type damage from damaging the fiber optic cable used as part of the associated light assembly.
The above and other objectives of the present invention will be explained in greater detail by reference to the figures and the description of the preferred embodiment which follows. As set forth herein, the present invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, mode of operation and combination of parts presently described and understood by the claims.